I enjoyed Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko follow up Southland Tales quite a bit. I can't say I was ever bored. In fact, I had to go to the bathroom for half of the movie and never was there a convenient, dull moment to slip away. I was in some serious pain. Regardless, the movie was a rollicking, good ridiculous time. And any movie that ends with a "stolen moment", or reference to the end of Repo Man (one of the greatest movies ever made) will always be aces in my book to a certain extent. The movie props up the tent poles of "big ideas" though. RELIGION AND POLITICS. And it fails in wanting to have its cake and eat it too. It wants to make a serious commentary about the state of the world, but it also wants to be a comic entertainment, making fun of such broad statements. The movie wants to be a lot of things and ends up being a big pseduo serious pop culture tent with a scattered, yet entertaining mess inside. Remy is right though in noting that the Justin Timberlake music video about three quarters though the movie is a classic movie moment. God bless Justin Timberlake and all he gives us! Carina Chocano in the LA Times sums it all up better than I can.

LA Times Southland Tales Review